Essay On Archetypes In Beowulf

875 Words2 Pages

Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic translated by Burton Raffel, centers around a hero called Beowulf. Beowulf possesses great strength and decides take upon many adventures in order to prove his power. Beowulf then travels around looking to establish his power and decides to prove it by killing three creatures: Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the Dragon. In order to provide the story of Beowulf the original composer used many literary archetypes. The Warriors Journey to Save His People archetype is displayed in the many adventures Beowulf embarks on in order to save innocent lives. Beowulf also contains the Mentor archetype which can be detected during the many times Beowulf mentors Wiglaf. Also, The Devi Figure archetype is shown in the many evil
The Devil Figure is what Beowulf is centered around. Grendel is one such devil figure. Grendel is pure sin and evil. Grendel`s evil can be detected on one trip to Herot Hall, in which he “is hoping to kill/ Anyone he could trap” (32). Grendel`s devilish personality is easily seen in his thoughts. Grendel is making a journey with sole idea of killing as many people as possible. However, Grendel is not the only devil figure in this story. Grendel’s mother is also a being of tremendous evil. Grendel’s mother diabolical nature can be observed in the beginning of the fight between her and Beowulf: “But her guest/ Discovered that no sword could slice her evil/ skin” (39.) Grendel’s mother is so evil that Beowulf could not harm her with any weapon that was made by man. This level of almost indestructible evilness is also abundant in the Harry Potter Series. Voldemort, achieving a level of black magic never before performed, split his twisted soul into seven pieces. This heinous act made Voldemort immortal until the seven pieces were destroyed individually. He was so evil that he, almost, could not be harmed. The literary archetype of The Devil Figure can be detected in Beowulf through the horrendous villains of Grendel and Grendel’s
The Warrior`s Journey to Save His People literary archetype is evident in the journeys Beowulf goes on in order to defend the people of Herot Hall. The literary archetype of the Mentor can also be detected in Beowulf. Beowulf mentors Wiglaf to replace him as leader of the Geats. Finally, The Devil Figure archetype is illustrated by the heinous characters of Grendel and Grendel’s mother. In Beowulf the literary archetypes of The Warrior`s Journey to Save His People, the Mentor, and The Devil Figure are illustrated and used to tremendous

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